Buttonmoon whinging again - jaundice, weight, blah

HV came yesterday and S had put on 40g in the previous 8 days which though small was a gain she was ok with. Booked to come again next Tues to weigh again. So far so good.

However, S's jaundice is still v v present so we had to schlep to gp to get a referral to paed ward for bloods to be taken. Cue 5hrs in hospital to take blood, told we could wait for results. Then told to go home - they'd ring with results in the evening.

19.40 last night I had a call from a ward clerk telling me I needed to go back in on Friday at 1pm to discuss results and weigh again - couldn't give me any more info. I spoke to MW who agrees that entering a frequent weighing cycle is not a good idea. So I rang ward this morning to speak to a nurse to ask for more info. Nurses won't talk to me so I'm waiting for a dr to call me back. Which in my experience is unlikely to happen.

So I'm in the dark about whether there's anything wrong or not and whether we'll be forced into a weighing cycle I don't want.

I've been here before and it's just a bit shitty. That's all. Sorry to whinge.

To top it all, I've had a blocked duct all week which I've been pumelling. Thought it was going to turn into masititis but not yet so hoping that by sheer force of will (and pumelling) I've managed to turn that particular corner but it doesn't help at all.

Just posting to say sorry you are having a shitty time of it. Whinge away. Have bit of a similar situation here. It can feel like one thing after another can't it.

On day 22 with DD. Weight gain was going in wrong direction (and blocked ducts - ouch) due to tongue tie, which was snipped last Friday in Manchester. One problem sorted we thought. Then M/W referred her back to another hospital for jaundice on Tuesday. 6 hour stint in hospital, blood and urine taken (what a barrel of laughs that was!). Jaundice declared to be OK and on the way out, but then they managed to find a heart murmur whilst doing their checks. So now have to go back for Echo and ECG. Was told we'd be called in the next day but haven't heard a dickeybird.

Hope the mastitis stays at bay. Impressed by the sound of your dedicated pumelling tho'. I need to apply the same rigour to my pelvic floor exercises

Spoke to a dr. Bili levels are 330 which is in the 'repeat tests' category - hence the needing to go back in tomorrow. But the NICE guideline is phototherapy should be used from 350+ - worth knowing! So I'm on a mission to up his food intake.

GP given me antibiotics. I'm going to not take them yet but hold them in reserve I think.

Just had a call from children's community nurse - they're going to come to the house to do the blood test which is great

And I've managed to get them to agree that a 48hr weighing cycle is not helpful. That I actually have sensible cmws and hvs who are keeping a close eye on his weight.

Is he having a heel prick test or a full blood test tomorrow? If it's a full blood test could you ask them to check his urea levels to check for dehydration? Does he have breastmilk jaundice? My DS does, so happy to compare notes if it helps! He regained his birth weight v slowly but is now (at 7 weeks) gaining nearly a pound a week.

He was about 3 weeks when he got there I think. He's made up for it since though! He's now 1.5kg above and back above 75th centile, even if he is still slightly yellow. He is feeding a LOT to get to that though, more than hourly during the day. DS's billi levels were almost at transfusion levels at one stage so he was in special care with me expressing and him feeding through a nasal tube. Although he was getting the amount they'd calculated he needed he still only regained really slowly.

We had the clotting problem too, once they had to take it 3 times before they got a useable sample, it's horrible but apparently quite common with jaundice. Are his billi levels rising or falling on their own?

Re: blocked ducts - a warm flannel or hot water bottle may help. I used these along with massage and baths (baths are a nice excuse for a skin-to-skin cuddle with your baby and I could BF in the bath with DS sitting on the same-side leg as he fed from).

I had a hot, red lump which disappeared within 48 hours. I did a lot of flannels / HW bottles / massage in that 48 hours as I was scared of the dreaded mastitis.

Hi, My DD also had very bad jaundice when she was born (right on the transfusion line) and had phototherapy for 5 days in hospital. The jaundice did linger for a while and her weight gain was slow but I just fed (breastfed) at every squeak and by 4 weeks everything was great and the jaundice was gone. DD is now 7.5 months and is absolutely thriving, infact HV mentioned that her weight gain should really start slowing down now

So I just wanted to reassure you that your LO will get there but it will take time. Good luck x x

Great news on the bili levels, not so great on the colic. Not sure if it related but my LO suffered terrible colic as soon as her jaundice started to subside and I wondered whether this was linked at all. There were several things that helped DD (sorry if your already know all this), loads of time with her nappy off, I lay her on one of those absorbant sheets to minimise the mess. Cycling legs and a warm flannel across her tummy. It didn't last very long with my DD but you really have my sympathy as its such a horrible thing for babies to go through. Take care x x

Buttonmoon. Don't have anything to add but just wanted to say I understand what you're going through. Am currently also having weight gain issues with my DS and it's so tough! I keep telling myself it will get better soon!